LONDON -- Aaron Ramsey looks set to miss Arsenal's festive fixture programme after manager Arsene Wenger confirmed the midfielder has sustained a hamstring injury.
Ramsey, 23, scored a memorable volley in Wednesday's 4-1 Champions League win at Galatasaray, but it seems that may be the last significant contribution he makes to the Gunners' cause in 2014.
"We have the scan last night and I don't know enough the extent of his injury," Wenger told a news conference, adding that he could not put a timescale on the Wales international's recovery period. "It's a shame because he was getting close to his form."
Ramsey's absence is one of many concerns Wenger is dealing with ahead of Saturday's home game against Newcastle, with his defensive injury woes increased as Nacho Monreal and Laurent Koscielny are also out of this weekend's match.
With Calum Chambers suspended, Wenger faces some big decisions in selecting a back line to face a Newcastle side that ended Chelsea's unbeaten start to the season last weekend.
"Defensively, I have 24 hours to think about it and I will find a solution," he continued. "We have to play someone with almost no experience or someone who is not used to playing in the position."
Wenger insisted that his side's poor display in the 3-2 defeat at Stoke last weekend was a blip in what he sees as an improving defensive record, despite the injury problems that have affected his squad this season.
"Before Stoke, we got three clean sheets in a row, but always the last game that is judged for the quality of the team," he said. "This is the modern game. Our last game was Galatasaray and we defended well there. I agree we didn't defend well at Stoke.
"We work on our weak points, obviously, but it is difficult. We came back [from Turkey] at 5am in the morning on Wednesday morning and we just have to recover at the moment. Our [training] sessions now are recover, recovery."
Wenger has confirmed that he will look to add a defender to his squad in the upcoming January transfer window, but he warned Arsenal supporters that movement of players will be limited next month.
"If everybody is fit and available, we don't need to go on the transfer market, but we have to consider that Koscielny could be a question mark with his fitness, so we have to go out on the transfer market, yes," he said.
"There will be very little activity because all the big clubs want to keep their players. It will be as usual -- quiet in the first three weeks and then frenetic in the last three or four days. Usually, the transfer market in January is not very active."
While Wenger has a lack of players to select from in defensive positions, his attacking options are plentiful, with Lukas Podolski pushing for a Premier League return after his fine display in the Galatasaray game and Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud also available after missing the trip to Turkey.